Upper Providence man jailed for assault in Royersford park

NORRISTOWN — An Upper Providence man faces three years of court supervision for attempting to cause bodily injury to his ex-girlfriend when he threatened her with a pocket knife and punched her during a domestic-related altercation at a Royersford park.

Mark Watson, 48, of the 100 block of Orchard Court, was sentenced Wednesday in Montgomery County Court to one-to-three years in a state correctional facility on charges of aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Feb. 17, 2012, incident at Victory Park along Second Avenue in Royersford.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who convicted Watson of the charges after a one-day, non-jury trial last December, also ordered Watson to have no contact with the victim and to pay a total of $12,377 in restitution associated with the case.

The judge acquitted Watson of a more serious felony charge of aggravated assault attempt to cause “serious” bodily injury. A charge of attempted homicide was previously withdrawn.

Advertisement

During the trial, the victim broke down in tears as she recalled the 3:20 p.m. incident in the park where she went to meet Watson and found him with another female friend, Tina Marie Lightcap.

Authorities allege the 32-year-old victim met Watson and Lightcap, who police described as Watson’s current girlfriend, in Victory Park to discuss her former involvement with Watson and that the conversation turned violent.

“I got up and he came at me with a knife. The blade was facing towards me. He was coming right at me with it. I was scared for my life. I felt I was going to lose my life that day,” the emotional victim testified for Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Magee, adding she grabbed Watson’s wrists to prevent him from stabbing her.

The victim, with the assistance of Lightcap, eventually was able to disarm Watson without anyone being stabbed, according to testimony. But the victim testified Watson continued to punch her in the face with a closed fist.

When he testified, Watson didn’t deny having the knife but he claimed he wasn’t trying to harm the victim and that he was simply trying to get her to leave him alone.

Defense lawyer Emmett Madden argued Watson was intoxicated and frustrated and was trying to get his ex-girlfriend to leave the park but that he wasn’t trying to stab the woman. Madden characterized the victim as a jealous ex-girlfriend who had physical confrontations with Watson in the past and who wanted Watson back in her life.

The victim, who also once lived with Watson in Boyertown, testified that she and Watson had “an on and off” relationship marked by physical confrontations that escalated to her ordering him to move from an apartment they shared in July 2011.

Juveniles who were playing basketball in the park testified they saw Watson in the park acting in a threatening manner with a woman. One of the juveniles testified he observed Watson with a pocket knife.

Lightcap, 47, of the 700 block of Chestnut Street, Royersford, previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of tampering with evidence in connection with the altercation and was sentenced to two years’ probation under a plea agreement. Lightcap was represented by defense lawyer David Schnarrs.

With the charge, authorities allege Lightcap told police that she threw the knife in a grassy area of the park after Watson was disarmed. Police alleged they eventually recovered the knife in Lightcap’s pocket.

“She stated, ‘I hid the knife because I didn’t want Mark to get in trouble,’” Royersford Police Officer John O’Keefe wrote in the arrest affidavit, referring to Lightcap’s statement.